That number of icebreakers is needed to ensure cargo traffic of 150 and 220 million tonnes respectively
The fleet of icebreakers operating on the Northern Sea Route should number 17 units by 2030 and 22 units by 2035, Vyacheslav Ruksha, Deputy General Director of Rosatom - Director of the Northern Sea Route Directorate, said at the plenary session of the XII International Forum “Arctic: Today and the Future”.
“17 icebreakers are needed to ensure regular cargo transportation throughout the year along the eastern lanes of the Northern Sea Route. That is the minimum estimate which was discussed by the experts. 22 icebreakers will be needed in 2035,” said Vyacheslav Ruksha. According to him, 17 icebreakers will be able to service the cargo traffic of at least 150 million tonnes in 2030 and 22 icebreakers – at least 220 million tonnes in 2035.
In accordance with Presidential Decree of 2018, the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM performs the functions of a single infrastructure operator for the development of the Northern Sea Route. The company operates the world’s only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers.
Under the contract with FSUE Atomflot, Baltiysky Zavod is currently building two icebreakers of Project 22220 (Yakutia and Chukotka). The lead icebreaker in the series, Arktika, and two serial icebreakers, Sibir and Ural, have already been put into operation. Besides, Shipbuilding Complex “Zvezda” (Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Territory) is building a nuclear-powered icebreaker of Leader type.
As it was reported earlier, Rosatom plans to expand the series of nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220 with two units (the 5th and the 6th icebreakers).
The Northern Sea Route is a single transport system in the Russian Arctic sector. It stretches along the northern coasts of Russia across the seas of the Arctic Ocean (Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi seas). The route links the European ports of Russia with the mouths of navigable rivers in Siberia and the Far East. In August 2022, a plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) until 2035 was approved. The plan includes over 150 activities with total financing nearing RUB 1.8 trillion. A separate section of the plan is focused on creation of a fleet of icebreakers including the lead icebreaker of Leader design as well as the development of shipbuilding and ship repair facilities in the Arctic.
According to the targets set by the plan for the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) until 2035 and approved in August 2022, annual cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route is to make 80 million in 2024, 150 million tonnes in 2030 and 220 million tonnes in 2035.
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